Crystal Report Development - FAQ

We all use reports, probably without thinking much about them. All businesses have some sort of central computer system that they are channeling all of their daily data and transactions into. These systems promise to generate valuable information about your business from that data in the form of reports. These may be printed or in electronic form, but they are efforts of the system to analyze your data and report it back to you in a logical format. [top]

Software companies do their best to create stock reports that fit all of their customers needs. However every business is different, with varying information requirements. Have you ever found yourself going through a stock report and adding handwritten notes and changes because the data was only “close” to what you needed? This can be very costly if the report is one that you use on a daily or weekly basis. Most companies find it more cost effective to have the report written correctly the first time than to pay someone to recalculate it by hand every time they use it. [top]

We are certainly not the only ones who can help you to alter or develop a custom report. In fact, some people can learn the basics of report writing in a matter or hours. However, our core skills lie in working with companies to determine exactly what information you need and then to create reports that deliver it to you in a clean, concise and complete format. We have extensive experience working with high-end ERPs, we have a deep understanding of the way data is formatted within them and a history of creating highly developed functionality that you can take advantage of. We can create your ideal report faster so that you can immediately be making profitable decisions from your data. [top]

Our ultimate goal is to deliver the best reporting solution, period. Just as a master carpenter uses multiple tools to do the job right, we have the ability to use a wide variety of reporting tools in order to find the perfect fit for you.

We use the Crystal Decisions suite of products, including Crystal Reports, SQL Designer, and Crystal Enterprise. We go even further by automating the delivery of your new reports with a tool we've developed called RPT Scheduler. Using this tool we can automate the delivery of your reports to printers or e-mail recipients based on a fixed schedule or "triggers" from your ERP. For example, we could set up a report to automatically e-mail a salesperson the instant their sales performance drops below set goals. Or, we could set up reports to automatically e-mail your customers that have current jobs in production with their current status. The possibilities are truly endless.

Sometimes the best fit is to simply use the reporting tools native to your ERP. We use Report Builder,R & R Report Writer, and Centura to modify or create reports. Many times the best report may not even be on paper. We can enable you to view live data and reports instantly in a web environment. We can also extend a report’s functionality by giving you the ability to interact and input data into your digital reports. [top]

We are all experiencing information overload. More often than not however, the information we are facing is not exactly what we need. SaberLogic can help you filter through the overload and reduce it down to the information you will really use. You will find that when you have the exact information you need in your hands, it empowers you to make profitable business decisions. So, is it really a matter of having too much information or simply a matter of not enough perfect information? [top]

 

When you present us with a new report, we will review the specification and try to put it into a "bucket" of hours required. We can usually tell you quickly if a report will take between 2 to 4 hours, 4 to 8 hours, or 8 to 16 hours. If a report requires more than 16 hours we will provide you with a customized estimate. Simply multiply the total hours by the quoted hourly rate. [top]

 

The lead time for a report will vary on the complexity of the report and our current workload. Typically lead times are between 1 and 2 weeks. We will provide you with an estimated lead time at the time we estimate the project. [top]

 

Need more information? Contact us.